The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to know what you think the term “natural” means for food products. Starting today, the agency will begin accepting comments from the public on use of the word and its definition.
The FDA opened a comment period on the word’s use after it received several Citizen Petitions on the matter. Three petitions asked the agency to define “natural” when it’s used on labels.
Another asked the FDA to prohibit use of the word altogether.
The FDA also noted that some federal courts, as a result of litigation, have asked the FDA to decide whether products with GMOs or high fructose corn syrup may use the term “natural” on their packaging.
According to their website, “Although the FDA has not engaged in rulemaking to establish a formal definition for the term ‘natural,’ we do have a longstanding policy concerning the use of ‘natural’ in human food labeling.”
The FDA considers the term “natural” to mean that nothing in the product is artificial or synthetic.
The FDA’s policy was not intended to address food production, processing or manufacturing methods. Their policy on use of the term also does not address or consider any nutritional or health benefit of the food.
The FDA is asking the public to weigh in on whether or not it should define “natural,” and if so, how it should define it. The agency is also asking people to weigh in on how it should determine the appropriate use of the word on food labels.
The comment period for using “natural” on food labeling begins today. Instructions for submitting electronic and mailed submissions can be found at the bottom of this page: http://1.usa.gov/1WOQBeo.